1 day Ago By Hamsaveni N
1 2 Bengaluru: Residents of Panathur-Balagere area, close to the busy Outer Ring Road (ORR), staged yet another protest Saturday morning seeking basic civic infrastructure in their neighbourhood. Fed up with broken roads, sewage overflow, and dust clouds from heavy vehicular movement, hundreds — mainly IT professionals — took to the streets in a creative demonstration. Wearing T-shirts that read ‘I paid taxes for a road, not for a roller coaster.
Rebate tax, we will build our roads', the protesters walked from Sobha Apartments in Balagere to Panathur S-Cross, outlining potholes with rangoli powder and singing satirical songs about the sorry state of the roads. The walk served both as a symbolic protest and a real-time test of the area's walkability, highlighting everyday hurdles. Residents said potholes, foul-smelling sewage, and dusty air have become constant companions.
"There's no sewage system in Panathur-Balagere. Drainage meant for rainwater is now carrying raw sewage," said Shwetha R, a local. She added that tax-paying residents are left wondering where their money is going — especially with the new solid waste management and parking cesses in place.
The locality has long suffered because of an incomplete road-widening project at the railway underpass, stalled for over a decade. Despite repeated protests and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar acknowledging the issue recently, residents said no real action has followed. "We've reached out to everyone — BBMP engineers, the local MLA, even the commissioner.
Nothing has changed," said Pavitra Holla, another resident. With the monsoon approaching and last year's waterlogging fresh in memory, residents fear worse days ahead and are demanding immediate action before disaster strikes again..
